Tools

I really enjoyed the "Heroes Return" story by Frank Murtaugh and "Good Friends" by Richard J. Alley. Great writing that struck a chord with me this holiday season. Thanks for all the great articles, all year long. Happy holidays.

Elizabeth M

About Ted Rall's Viewpoint column, "Bern Unit" ...

Ted Rall's hilarious screed about socialism and American ignorance was almost as entertaining as it was uninformative. Rall is appalled by "political ignoramuses" and wonders whether we "idiots" are "qualified to vote at all." He's upset that even Democrats are too stupid to understand the socialist "tradition of Western European electoral politics," much less the Republican right, which is plagued by "colossal dumbness."

It must be sorely difficult to be so doggone educated, intelligent, and right when so many people are uneducated and just plain stupid. Perhaps Bernie Sanders should belittle Americans for their ignorance of "basic political and economic terms." That'll win over a bunch of swing voters!

It seems pretty obvious that Rall isn't interested in democracy, socialism, or even communism at all. What he wants is a type of fascist totalitarianism in which he and a few other "well educated elites" get to tell everyone what to do, how to act, and, most importantly, what's "good for them."

You can always count on a leftist to reveal his or her true intentions when it comes to governance and public policy. To paraphrase Madge the manicurist: What's that smell? You're sitting in it, Mr. Rall!

I love the Grizzlies, but I really think age has caught up with us. We aren't the defensive team we once were, and Allen looks disgruntled. I think Z-Bo can be really effective off the bench, playing 25 minutes a night, but the question is how long will he settle for coming off the bench. Gasol has had his moments, but the consistency has not been there, and Conley has not been as good this year.

We have to beat a quality opponent with their full lineup intact, and we don't look like we can do that.

Ray

About Bruce VanWyngarden's Letter From the Editor, "Wondering Where the Lions Are" ...

The charter school industry is not unlike the for-profit prison system, which requires a steady influx of money, er, prisoners, and so laws are written to keep the prisons full. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the same gangs don't run both operations.

Jeff

About the GOP debate ...

The men and the woman vying for the GOP presidential nomination want us to believe that America under President Obama is the ultimate wimp nation; that when it comes to the Islamic State, we're busy zoning out on Netflix and letting ISIS run rampant. The way Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and their minions put it, you'd think the Obama administration is doing nothing.

Turns out, the United States is dumping tens of thousands of bombs on Islamic State strongholds, so much so, the U.S. has been running out of bombs. Since the air war kicked off last year, we've unloaded more bombs on ISIS than we have in Afghanistan any time during the past five years. In fact, when it comes to ISIS, we've averaged more than 2,000 air raids a month since the military mission began. We're spending some $10 million every day bombing the Islamic State. So far we've spent more than $4 billion!

And it's gotten us nowhere. Just like increased military action and Ted Cruz's "carpet bombing" will get us nowhere. So, when you hear the Republican warmongers and know-nothings pop off, be happy President Obama is living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and taking care of business.

Arthur Lewis

Keep the Flyer Free!

Always independent, always free (never a paywall),
the Memphis Flyer is your source for the best in local news and information.